Health officials in Dallas County on Saturday reported 647 additional cases of COVID-19 and three coronavirus-related deaths.
The people who died after contracting COVID-19 included a Garland man in his 30s who died at a hospital emergency department, a Dallas woman in her 40s who had been critically ill at a local hospital, and a Dallas man in his 70s who had been critically ill in a local hospital. Both the Garland man and Dallas woman had underlying health conditions, according to the county.
Dallas County has reported 1,082 confirmed deaths related to the coronavirus.
Of the 647 cases added Saturday, 599 are confirmed cases, and 460 came through the Texas Department of State Health Services' electronic reporting system. Six of those 460 are considered older cases.
In addition to the confirmed cases, DCHSS also reported 48 probable cases of the novel coronavirus Saturday. The county has reported 89,433 confirmed and 4,542 probable cases of COVID-19 since March.
The Texas Department of State Health Services has reported an estimated number of recoveries on its site and lists 80,004 for Dallas County as of Saturday, Oct. 17. Using data supplied by the state, there are an estimated 7,640 active COVID-19 cases in the county.
"We know what to do and we know what works. We've been through it before. We just need to do it and we need to start doing it immediately," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a written statement. "The fight against COVID-19 will last a little longer and it's up to all of us to stay in the fight and not lose our resolve to keep our families, our community and our economy safe."
Dallas County's provisional seven-day average of new cases, which uses the date of the test collection, for Week 41 was 453 new cases per day. That's up from the previous week's average of 383. The positivity rate in Dallas County last week was 12.6% -- higher than the statewide rate of 7.1% by lab reported date.
A provisional total of 390 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in school-aged children last week -- an increase of 32% from the previous week, according to DCHSS.
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Of all confirmed coronavirus cases requiring hospitalization, more than two-thirds have been under 65 years old, DCHSS said. Diabetes has been an underlying health condition in about one-third of all hospitalized patients, while 24% of COVID-19-related deaths have been associated with long-term care facilities.
